Amid Notre Dame’s snub from the College Football Playoff, a bright spot is their running back Jeremiyah Love, who will represent the Fighting Irish at the Heisman Ceremony on Saturday evening.
Ahead of the prestigious trophy going to one of the four finalists, Love grabbed the spotlight with another major award win. The future first-round NFL Draft pick won the Doak Walker Award, celebrating his excellence on the football field.
The junior running back put together a superb season with 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns on 199 carries for the 10-2 Irish. While Love’s body of work was impressive and helped the team look good down the stretch, the selection committee opted not to include Notre Dame in the CFP, sparking controversy.
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The fallout from that announcement included Notre Dame turning down invitations to participate in any college bowl games, causing backlash toward Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish.
Amidst all that drama, Love is under the spotlight with the Doak Walker Award, and again in New York City on Saturday night.
Started in 1990, the Doak Walker Award goes to the top running back in college football. On Friday evening, Notre Dame sent out a social media announcement to reveal Love as this year’s award winner.
The Fighting Irish celebrated him as “the most outstanding running back in college football” and stated that he made history as the first-ever Notre Dame running back to win the award.
Love follows in the footsteps of recent Doak Walker Award winners, including Ashton Jeanty, Bijan Robinson, and Kenneth Walker III, each of whom is having a noteworthy season in the NFL for their respective teams.
Next up for the Notre Dame RB is Saturday night’s Heisman Ceremony, where four finalists are vying for this year’s trophy. In addition to Love, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, and Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia are contending to win the award.
Love is currently a long shot to win the award, but so are three of his fellow Heisman finalists, as the odds suggest that Hoosier star Mendoza will claim the honor.
Love’s Doak Walker Award win and his celebration with the Heisman finalists further highlight his excellent season. As of this writing, he’s projected as a first-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft, possibly going in the first 15 selections.
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